Adjustment of destage rate based on read and write response time requirements

ABSTRACT

A storage controller that includes a cache receives a command from a host, wherein a set of criteria corresponding to read and write response times for executing the command have to be satisfied. The storage controller determines ranks of a first type and ranks of a second type corresponding to a plurality of volumes coupled to the storage controller, wherein the command is to be executed with respect to the ranks of the first type. Destage rate corresponding to the ranks of the first type are adjusted to be less than a default destage rate corresponding to the ranks of the second type, wherein the set of criteria corresponding to the read and write response times for executing the command are satisfied.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The disclosure relates to a method, system, and article of manufacturefor adjustment of destage rate based on read and write response timerequirements.

2. Background

A storage controller may control a plurality of storage devices that mayinclude hard disks, tapes, etc. A cache may also be maintained by thestorage controller, where the cache may comprise a high speed storagethat is accessible more quickly in comparison to certain other storagedevices, such as, hard disks, tapes, etc. However, the total amount ofstorage capacity of the cache may be relatively smaller in comparison tothe storage capacity of certain other storage devices, such as, harddisks, etc., that are controlled by the storage controller. The cachemay be comprised of one or more of random access memory (RAM),non-volatile storage device (NVS), read cache, write cache, etc., thatmay interoperate with each other in different ways. The NVS may becomprised of a battery backed-up random access memory and may allowwrite operations to be performed at a high speed. The storage controllermay manage Input/Output (I/O) requests from networked hosts to theplurality of storage devices.

Caching techniques implemented by the storage controller assist inhiding I/O latency. The cache may comprise a high speed memory orstorage device used to reduce the effective time required to read datafrom or write data to a lower speed memory or device. The cache is usedfor rapid access to data staged from external storage to service readdata access requests, and to provide buffering of modified data. Writerequests are written to the cache and then written (i.e., destaged) tothe external storage devices.

NVS was introduced for allowing fast writes. Generally, in the absenceof NVS, data writes may have to be synchronously written (i.e.,destaged) directly to the storage device to ensure consistency,correctness, and persistence. Otherwise failure of the server may causedata stored in the cache to be lost. Generally the rate of host writesexceeds the speed of the storage devices, hence without NVS the rate ofdata transfer to storage devices may be slow. NVS enables fast writes tocache where the writes are mirrored to and stored safely in the NVSuntil the writes can be transferred to the external storage device. Thedata is destaged from cache later (and discarded from NVS) in anasynchronous fashion thus hiding the write latency of the storagedevice. The cache and NVS typically store updates intended for multiplestorage devices. To guarantee continued low latency for writes, the datain the NVS may have to be drained so as to ensure that there is alwayssome empty space for incoming writes; otherwise, follow-on writes maybecome effectively synchronous, which may adversely impact the responsetime for host writes. On the other hand, if the writes are drained tooaggressively, then the benefits of write caching may not be fullyexploited since the average amount of NVS cache utilized may be low.

Task Control Block (TCB) is a data structure in the operating systemkernel containing the information needed to manage a particular process.Storage controllers may move information to and from storage devices,and to and from the cache (including the NVS) by using TCBs to managethe movement of data. When a write request issues from a host computerto a storage controller, a TCB may be allocated from the operatingsystem code. The TCB is used to maintain information about the writeprocess from beginning to end as data to be written is passed from thehost computer through the cache to the secondary storage devices. If thecache is full, the TCB may be queued until existing data in the cachecan be destaged (i.e., written to secondary storage devices), in orderto free up space. The destage operations may involve the moving ofinformation from cache to a RAID rank and destage TCBs may be allocatedfor performing the destage operations.

SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Provided are a method, a system, and a computer program product in whicha storage controller that includes a cache receives a command from ahost, wherein a set of criteria corresponding to read and write responsetimes for executing the command have to be satisfied. The storagecontroller determines ranks of a first type and ranks of a second typecorresponding to a plurality of volumes coupled to the storagecontroller, wherein the command is to be executed with respect to theranks of the first type. Destage rate corresponding to the ranks of thefirst type are adjusted to be less than a default destage ratecorresponding to the ranks of the second type, wherein the set ofcriteria corresponding to the read and write response times forexecuting the command are satisfied.

In certain embodiments, the adjusted destage rate corresponding to theranks of the first type allow a rate of I/O operations to the ranks ofthe first type to be maximized, subject to the read and write responsetimes for executing the command being satisfied. The set of criteriaspecifies that the average read response time is to be less than a firstthreshold and a predetermined percentage of reads are to be performed ina time less than a second threshold. The set of criteria furtherspecifies that the average write response time is to be less than athird threshold, each write burst is to be completed in a time that isless than a fourth threshold, and the interval between any twoconsecutive write bursts is greater than a fifth threshold.

In further embodiments, the adjusted destage rate corresponding to ranksof the second type are determined by simulating execution of abenchmark, wherein the simulating comprises determining whether readpeaks are at a lower rate of I/O operations than a rate of I/Ooperations at which the cache starts to fill and new writes need to waitfor destages from the cache to complete. In response to determining thatthe read peaks are at a lower rate of I/O operations than a rate of I/Ooperations at which the cache starts to fill and new writes need to waitfor destages from the cache to complete, the number of destage taskcontrol blocks are decreased to reduce the destage rate. Additionally,in response to determining that the read peaks are not at a lower rateof I/O operations than a rate of I/O operations at which the cachestarts to fill and new writes need to wait for destages from the cacheto complete, the number of destage task control blocks are increased toincrease the destage rate.

In yet further embodiments, determining ranks of the first type isperformed by processing a touch file that identifies ranks of the firsttype or by receiving an indication at the controller that a volume is tobe used for a first type of workload and determining from the indicationwhich ranks are of the first type.

In additional embodiments, determining ranks of the first type furthercomprises processing write burst patterns received at the storagecontroller to determine whether the write burst patterns conform to apredetermined type. In response to determining that the write burstpatterns conform to the predetermined type, a determination is made thatranks to which the write burst patterns are addressed are of the firsttype.

In further embodiments, the adjusted destage rate corresponding to ranksof the first type is less than half of the default destage rate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers representcorresponding parts throughout:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computing environment thatincludes a storage controller coupled to a plurality of hosts and aplurality of storage devices, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram that shows exemplary requirements onread response times, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram that shows exemplary requirements onwrite response times, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram that shows parameters for destagerate adjustment, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram that how ranks of a predeterminedtype are determined, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart that shows operations for determining thenumber of destage task control blocks per rank for destaging data, inaccordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart that shows certain operations foradjusting the destage rate, in accordance with certain embodiments; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a computational system that showscertain elements that may be included in the storage controller of FIG.1, in accordance with certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings which form a part hereof and which illustrate severalembodiments. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized andstructural and operational changes may be made.

Applications with Strict Requirements of Read and Write Response Times

Certain applications, such as mission critical applications, real-timeapplications, or some applications in the medical field may have strictrequirements on read response times. Such applications may be referredto as stringent requirements applications. For example, in certainapplications, 99.99% of read requests may have to be satisfied by thestorage controller in less than 600 milliseconds. Certain suchapplications may have also have workloads that include a sequence oflarge write bursts. For example, each write burst may be comprised ofseveral hundred megabytes to several gigabytes of small block data andthere may be requirements on average write response times, andcompletion time requirements for each write burst.

If a storage controller sets the destage rate to be too high toaccommodate the large write bursts and the completion time requirementsfor the write bursts, then the storage controller may not be able torespond to read requests quickly enough to satisfy the read responsetime requirements. By destaging data quickly from the cache via a highdestage rate, writes can speeded up. However, a high rate of destage maycause a slow rate of reads from secondary storage devices as seek timesin disks for read operations may increase while writes are beingperformed, or reads may be queued to be performed after the writes havebeen performed.

Certain embodiments determine which ranks of secondary storage are usedfor applications with strict requirements on read response times thatalso have high write bursts, and adjusts the destage rate to a rate thatis lower than a default destage rate. In certain embodiments the storagecontroller may be able to determine which ranks are to be subjected tosuch adjusted destage rates that are reduced in comparison to defaultdestage rates. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, an optimizationmechanism is used to achieve a high rate of input/output (I/O)operations to the disk, while at the same time satisfying the read andwrite response time requirements for a stringent requirementsapplication.

Exemplary Embodiments

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computing environment 100 thatincludes a storage controller 102 coupled to a plurality of hosts 104 a,104 b, . . . 104 n, and a plurality of storage devices 106, inaccordance with certain embodiments. The plurality of storage devices106 may be referred to as secondary storage devices, in contrast to acache 108 that is included in the storage controller 102.

The storage controller 102 and the hosts 104 a. . . 104 n may compriseany suitable computational device including those presently known in theart, such as, a personal computer, a workstation, a server, a mainframe,a hand held computer, a palm top computer, a telephony device, a networkappliance, a blade computer, a server, etc. The storage controller 102,the hosts 104 a. . . 104 n, and the plurality of storage devices 106 maycommunicate over a network, such as the Internet, a storage areanetwork, a wide area network, a local area network, etc.

The plurality of storage devices 106 may comprise any suitable storagedevices, such as physical hard disks, solid stage disks, etc., known inthe art. The storage devices 106 may be configured into volumes. Incertain embodiments, storage devices 106 may be disks that areconfigured as Redundant Array of Independent Disk (RAID) ranks In FIG.1, a first plurality of ranks of a first type that are used to respondto a first type of application (e.g., applications that have stringentrequirements on read and write response times) are shown via referencenumerals 110 a. . . 110 m, and a second plurality of ranks of a secondtype that are used to respond to other types of applications are shownvia reference numerals 112 a. . . 112 p. The ranks 110 a. . . 110 m arealso referred to as stringent requirements ranks 111, and the ranks 112a. . . 112 p are also referred to as other ranks 113.

The cache 108 may comprise one or more of different types of memory,such as RAMs, write caches, read caches, NVS, etc. The different typesof memory that comprise the cache may interoperate with each other.Writes from the hosts 104 a. . . 104 n may initially be written to thecache 108 and then later destaged to the storage devices 106. Readrequests from the hosts 104 a. . . 104 n may be satisfied from the cache108 if the corresponding information is available in the cache 108,otherwise the information is staged from the storage devices 106 to thecache 108 and then provided to the hosts 104 a. . . 104 n.

The storage controller 102 executes a destage rate adjustmentapplication 114 that adjusts the number of task control blocks (TCB) perrank to adjust a default destage rate 116 to an adjusted destage rate118 for certain exemplary applications (e.g., stringent requirementsapplication 115 shown in the exemplary host 104 a) for which a set ofcriteria 120 for read and write response times have to be satisfied.Exemplary TCBs per rank are shown via reference numerals 122 a, 122 b, .. . 122 s.

In certain embodiments, an application with read and write response timerequirements may send a command from the host 104 a to the storagecontroller 102. The application with read and write response timerequirements may be referred to as the stringent requirementsapplication 115 or a first type of application. The command may comprisea read or a write request or some other command. The destage rateadjustment application 114 determines which ranks are allocated to thestringent requirements application 115 and may determine the ranks ofthe first type 110 a. . . 110 m (stringent requirements ranks 111) asbeing allocated to the stringent requirements application 115. Thedestage rate adjustment application 114 may have been operating thecache 108 with a default destage rate 116, and to process the commandsfrom the stringent requirements application 115, the destage rateadjustment application 114 may reduce the number of TCBs per rank foreach of the ranks 110 a. . . 110 m, to provide an adjusted destage rate118 that is lower than the default destage rate 116, where the defaultdestage rate 116 is used for applications that are different from thestringent requirements applications 115. For example, in certainembodiments, the number of TCBs per rank may be halved to make theadjusted destage rate 118 for the stringent requirements application 115to be half of the default destage rate 116 for other applications.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram 200 that shows exemplary requirementson read response times 202 for an exemplary stringent requirementsapplications 115, in accordance with certain embodiments.

In certain embodiments, the exemplary requirements on read responsetimes may be as follows:

-   1) The average read response time is to be less than 15.0    milliseconds (shown via reference numeral 204);-   2) Four nines requirement: 99.99% of reads are to be completed in a    time that within 600 milliseconds (shown via reference numeral 206);-   3) Three nines requirement: 99.9% of reads are to be completed in a    time that is within 200 milliseconds (shown via reference numeral    208); and-   4) Two nines requirements: 99% of reads are to be completed in a    time that is within 60 milliseconds (shown via reference numeral    210).

In certain embodiments, if the wait time for a read is more than 500milliseconds, the read is performed even if there are any pendingwrites. In such embodiments, the four nines requirement may be easy tosatisfy, but the three nines requirements and the two nines requirementsmay be difficult to satisfy if the destage rate is too high,

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram 300 that shows exemplary requirementson write response times 302 for stringent requirements applications 115,in accordance with certain embodiments.

For certain stringent requirements applications, an exemplary workloadincludes a large write “burst”, which may be comprised of severalhundred Mb to 2 Gb of small block data. The data is sent from the hosts104 a. . . 104 n to the storage controller 102 as rapidly as possible,utilizing multiple I/O streams. Depending on the size of the NVS in thecache 108, the storage controller destaging applications can becomeaggressive and highly efficient. While this provides rapid destagingbehavior, the storage devices 106 may prioritize the writes in front ofpending reads. This is primarily due to the fact that the seek timesbetween the writes are minimized, which in turn provides greater overallInput/Output (I/O) efficiency. The stringent requirements applicationsrequire consistently low read response times regardless of whether awrite burst event is occurring, (the write burst occur typically every80 seconds or so and may last for up to 30 seconds). In case noadjustments are made to the default destage rate 116, large readlatencies (or I/O read “peak” latencies) may occur soon after the startof the write burst and lasting beyond the end of the write burst. Thedestage mechanisms may be actively working to empty the NVS cache memoryand may cause low read response times.

The stringent requirements application 115 may also recommend diskcontroller hardware and may prefer hardware with high IOPS (i.e., I/Ooperations per second) per disk. The configuration objective of thestorage controller 102 is to achieve the highest IOPS/disk whilesatisfying the read response time requirements 202 and the writeresponse time requirements 302.

In certain embodiments, exemplary requirements on write response time302 are as follows:

-   1) Average write response time is to be less than 1 millisecond    (shown via reference numeral 304);-   2) Each write burst completes in less than 30 seconds (shown via    reference numeral 304); and-   3) Time interval between consecutive write bursts is greater than 50    seconds (shown via reference numeral 304)

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram 400 that shows parameters for destagerate adjustment 402, in accordance with certain embodiments.

In certain embodiments, the number of destages tasks are adjusted suchthat the storage controller is able to provide the highest possibleIOPS/disk without violating the stringent requirements application'srequirements for both read and write response times. Ideally the highestIOPS will occur at the point at which both read and write peaks at aboutthe same time.

Therefore, the destage rate adjustment application 114 attempts toadjust the destage rate such that the number of IOPS/disk are maximized404, while the requirements on the read response time 406 and therequirements of the write response time 408 are both satisfied.

In addition to adjusting the destage rate in order to maximize IOPS/diskwhile satisfying read and write response time requirements, the storagecontroller 102 may also allocate certain ranks 110 a. . . 110 m to bespecifically allocated for the stringent requirements application 115.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram 500 that how ranks (e.g., ranks 110a. . . 110 m) of the stringent requirements type are determined, inaccordance with certain embodiments.

There are several ways the storage controller 102 can determine ranksthat are for the stringent requirements application 115. In certainembodiments (shown via reference numeral 504) a touch file can identifya rank corresponding to the stringent requirements application 115. Thetouch file may include a bitmap with bits set for ranks that are to beused for the stringent requirements application 115.

In other embodiments (shown via reference numeral 506) the stringentrequirements application 115 can pass an indication in a volume toindicate that the volume is to be used for stringent requirementsapplication workloads. From these volumes, the storage controller 102can determine which ranks are to be used for the stringent requirementsapplication workload. Then the storage controller 102 can construct abitmap of ranks to be used for the stringent requirements ranks 111.

In still further embodiments (shown via reference numeral 508) hestorage controller 102 determines stringent requirements ranks 111,based on the write burst pattern from the stringent requirementsapplication software. If a rank is getting write bursts for less than 30seconds and there are no writes for 50 seconds then the rank may bedetermined to be a stringent requirements application rank. The storagecontroller 102 then constructs a bitmap of ranks that are used forstringent requirements application workloads.

In certain exemplary embodiments, the maximum number destage TCBs 122 a.. . 122 s per rank are set as follows:

-   1) If the bit is set for the rank to suggest that this is a    stringent requirements rank then set the number of maximum destage    TCBs allowed for this rank to the most optimal number for the    stringent requirements application 115. In certain embodiments the    most optimal number is 8; and-   2) If the bit is not set to suggest this is not a stringent    requirements rank than set the number of maximum destage TCBs    allowed for this rank to the default of 40.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart 600 that shows operations for determiningthe number of destage task control blocks per rank for destaging data,in accordance with certain embodiments. The operations shown in FIG, 6may be performed by the destage rate adjustment application 114 thatexecutes in the storage controller 102.

Control starts at block 602 in which the destage rate adjustmentapplication 114 starts with a predetermined number of destage taskcontrol blocks per rank. Control proceeds to block 604, where thedestage rate adjustment application 114 simulates execution of thebenchmark for workloads of the stringent requirements application 115,and the simulation is continued until an optimal number of destage TCBsis determined.

From block 604 control proceeds to block 606 in which the destage rateadjustment application 114 determines whether read peaks are at a lowerrate of I/O operations than a rate of I/O operations at which the cachestarts to fill and new writes need to wait for destages from the cacheto complete. In response to determining (“Yes” branch from block 606)that the read peaks are at a lower rate of I/O operations than a rate ofI/O operations at which the cache starts to fill and new writes need towait for destages from the cache to complete, the number of destage taskcontrol blocks are decreased (at block 608) to reduce the destage rate.Additionally, in response to determining (“No” branch from block 606)that the read peaks are not at a lower rate of I/O operations than arate of I/O operations at which the cache starts to fill and new writesneed to wait for destages from the cache to complete, the number ofdestage task control blocks are increased (at block 610) to increase thedestage rate.

From blocks 608 and 612 control returns to block 604 and the simulationis continued. The simulation determines the IOPS where read peaks andthe writes start filling the cache (e.g., the NVS) and new writes needto wait for destages from the cache (e.g., the NVS) to complete.

In certain embodiments, an exemplary optimal number of destage TCBswhere both read peaks and writes peaks are hit at the same time may befound. In certain embodiments simulation may be started with 40 destageTCBs and it may be determined that the optimal destage TCBs per rank forstringent requirements application workloads is 8-10 destage TCBs. As aresult of such simulations, the IOPS per disk may be increased from 80IOPS when the default TCBs per rank of 40 is used, to over 200 IOPS when8-10 destage TCBs per rank are used.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart 700 that shows certain operations foradjusting the destage rate, in accordance with certain embodiments. Theoperations shown in FIG, 7 may be performed by the destage rateadjustment application 114 that executes in the storage controller 102.

Control starts at block 702, in which a storage controller 102 thatincludes a cache 108 receives a command from a host 104 a, wherein a setof criteria 120 corresponding to read 202 and write 302 response timesfor executing the command have to be satisfied. In certain embodimentsthe command may be received from the stringent requirements application115 that executes in the host 104 a.

The storage controller 102 determines (at block 704) ranks of a firsttype 110 a. . . 110 m and ranks of a second type 112 a. . . 112 pcorresponding to a plurality of volumes coupled to the storagecontroller 102, wherein the command is to be executed with respect tothe ranks of the first type 110 a. . . 110 m. In certain embodiments,the ranks of the first type 110 a. . . 110 m are for the stringentrequirements application 115 that executes in the host 104 and fromwhich the command has been received by the storage controller 102.

Control proceeds to block 706 in which destage rate corresponding to theranks of the first type (i.e., stringent requirement type) are adjustedto be less than a default destage rate 116 corresponding to the ranks ofthe second type, wherein the set of criteria 120 corresponding to theread and write response times for executing the command are satisfied.

Therefore, FIG. 7 illustrates certain embodiments in which ranksallocated to stringent requirements application and ranks allocated toother applications are identified in the storage controller 102. Incertain embodiments, one setting of destage TCBs are used for ranksallocated to the stringent requirements application 115, and anothersetting is used for other applications. In certain embodiments, theadjusted destage rate corresponding to ranks of the stringentrequirements type is less than half of the default destage rate. Incertain other embodiments, the adjusted destage rate corresponding toranks of the stringent requirements type is less than a fifth of thedefault destage rate.

Therefore, certain embodiments reduce the destage rate in comparison toa default destage rate to allow maximum IOPS while satisfying read andwrite response time requirements for stringent requirementsapplications. For applications that are not stringent requirementsapplications the default destage rate is used.

Additional Embodiment Details

The described operations may be implemented as a method, apparatus orcomputer program product using standard programming and/or engineeringtechniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combinationthereof. Accordingly, aspects of the embodiments may take the form of anentirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,aspects of the embodiments may take the form of a computer programproduct embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) havingcomputer readable program code embodied there.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java*, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider). * Java is a trademark or registered trademark of Oracleand/or its affiliates.

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram that shows certain elements that maybe included in the storage controller 102 or the hosts 104 a. . . 104 n,in accordance with certain embodiments. The system 800 may comprise thestorage controller 102 or the hosts 104 a. . . 104 n, and may include acircuitry 802 that may in certain embodiments include at least aprocessor 804. The system 800 may also include a memory 806 (e.g., avolatile memory device), and storage 808. The storage 808 may include anon-volatile memory device (e.g., EEPROM, ROM, PROM, RAM, DRAM, SRAM,flash, firmware, programmable logic, etc.), magnetic disk drive, opticaldisk drive, tape drive, etc. The storage 808 may comprise an internalstorage device, an attached storage device and/or a network accessiblestorage device. The system 800 may include a program logic 810 includingcode 812 that may be loaded into the memory 806 and executed by theprocessor 804 or circuitry 802. In certain embodiments, the programlogic 810 including code 812 may be stored in the storage 808. Incertain other embodiments, the program logic 810 may be implemented inthe circuitry 802. Therefore, while FIG. 8 shows the program logic 810separately from the other elements, the program logic 810 may beimplemented in the memory 806 and/or the circuitry 802.

Certain embodiments may be directed to a method for deploying computinginstruction by a person or automated processing integratingcomputer-readable code into a computing system, wherein the code incombination with the computing system is enabled to perform theoperations of the described embodiments.

The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “theembodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “someembodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean “one or more (but not all)embodiments of the present invention(s)” unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereofmean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of theitems are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expresslyspecified otherwise.

Devices that are in communication with each other need not be incontinuous communication with each other, unless expressly specifiedotherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication with eachother may communicate directly or indirectly through one or moreintermediaries.

A description of an embodiment with several components in communicationwith each other does not imply that all such components are required. Onthe contrary a variety of optional components are described toillustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the presentinvention.

Further, although process steps, method steps, algorithms or the likemay be described in a sequential order, such processes, methods andalgorithms may be configured to work in alternate orders. In otherwords, any sequence or order of steps that may be described does notnecessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in thatorder. The steps of processes described herein may be performed in anyorder practical. Further, some steps may be performed simultaneously.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readilyapparent that more than one device/article (whether or not theycooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly,where more than one device or article is described herein (whether ornot they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a singledevice/article may be used in place of the more than one device orarticle or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead ofthe shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or thefeatures of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more otherdevices which are not explicitly described as having suchfunctionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the present inventionneed not include the device itself.

At least certain operations that may have been illustrated in thefigures show certain events occurring in a certain order. In alternativeembodiments, certain operations may be performed in a different order,modified or removed. Moreover, steps may be added to the above describedlogic and still conform to the described embodiments. Further,operations described herein may occur sequentially or certain operationsmay be processed in parallel. Yet further, operations may be performedby a single processing unit or by distributed processing units.

The foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention hasbeen presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the preciseform disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in lightof the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention belimited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claimsappended hereto. The above specification, examples and data provide acomplete description of the manufacture and use of the composition ofthe invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, theinvention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a memory; and a processorcoupled to the memory, wherein the processor performs operations, theoperations comprising: receiving, by a storage controller that includesa cache, a command from a host, wherein a set of criteria correspondingto read and write response times for executing the command have to besatisfied for a stringent requirements application, and wherein destagetask control blocks maintained in the storage controller storeinformation about processes as data to be written is passed from thehost through the cache to storage devices coupled to the storagecontroller; and adjusting destage rate corresponding to rankscorresponding to a plurality of volumes stored in the storage devicescoupled to the storage controller, wherein the set of criteriacorresponding to the read and write response times for executing thecommand are satisfied, and wherein the adjusted destage ratecorresponding to the ranks is determined by simulating execution of abenchmark, and wherein the simulating comprises: determining whetherread peaks are at a lower rate of input/output (I/O) operations than arate of I/O operations at which the cache starts to fill and new writesneed to wait for destages from the cache to complete; and in response todetermining that the read peaks are at a lower rate of I/O operationsthan a rate of I/O operations at which the cache starts to fill and newwrites need to wait for destages from the cache to complete, decreasingnumber of destage task control blocks to reduce the destage rate,wherein: a destage rate adjustment application determines which ranksare allocated to the stringent requirements application, and wherein amaximum number of destage task control blocks for a rank is set byperforming: if the rank is a stringent requirements rank then a maximumnumber of destage task control blocks allowed for the stringentrequirements rank is set to a number that is less than a default number;and if the rank is not a stringent requirements rank then the maximumnumber of destage task control blocks allowed for the rank that is not astringent requirements rank is set to the default number.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein the adjusted destage rate corresponding to the ranksallow a rate of I/O operations to the ranks to be maximized subject tothe read and write response times for executing the command beingsatisfied, and wherein the set of criteria specifies: average readresponse time is to be less than a first threshold; a predeterminedpercentage of reads are to be performed in a time less than a secondthreshold; the average write response time is to be less than a thirdthreshold; each write burst is to be completed in a time that is lessthan a fourth threshold; and interval between any two consecutive writebursts is greater than a fifth threshold.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein if the storage controller sets the destage rate to be too highto accommodate the requirements on the average write response times andthe completion time requirements for the write bursts of thepredetermined type, then the storage controller is unable to respond toread requests quickly enough to satisfy read response time requirementsincluded in the set of criteria.
 4. The system of claim 1, theoperations further comprising: determining, by the storage controller,ranks of a first type and ranks of a second type corresponding to theplurality of volumes coupled to the storage controller, wherein theranks of the first type are determined based on an indication receivedat the storage controller that the volume is to be used for a first typeof workload that includes write bursts of a predetermined type, whereineach write burst of the predetermined type is comprised of at least twohundred megabytes of block data, and the set of criteria includesrequirements on average write response times and completion timerequirements for the write bursts of the predetermined type, and whereinthe command is to be executed with respect to the ranks of the firsttype; and adjusting destage rate corresponding to ranks of the firsttype to be less than half of a default destage rate, and wherein inresponse to determining that the read peaks are not at a lower rate ofI/O operations than a rate of I/O operations at which the cache startsto fill and new writes need to wait for destages from the cache tocomplete, increasing the number of destage task control blocks toincrease the destage rate.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein determiningranks of the first type and ranks of the second type further comprises:processing the write burst patterns received at the storage controllerto determine whether the write burst patterns conform to thepredetermined type; and in response to determining that the write burstpatterns conform to the predetermined type, determining that ranks towhich the write burst patterns are addressed are of the first type. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the destage task control blocksmaintained in the storage controller is a data structure in an operatingsystem kernel that includes information needed to manage a process fordestaging.
 7. A computer program product, the computer program productcomprising: a computer readable storage medium having computer readableprogram code embodied therewith, the computer readable program codeconfigured to perform operations, the operations comprising: receiving,by a storage controller that includes a cache, a command from a host,wherein a set of criteria corresponding to read and write response timesfor executing the command have to be satisfied for a stringentrequirements application, and wherein destage task control blocksmaintained in the storage controller store information about processesas data to be written is passed from the host through the cache tostorage devices coupled to the storage controller; and adjusting destagerate corresponding to ranks corresponding to a plurality of volumesstored in the storage devices coupled to the storage controller, whereinthe set of criteria corresponding to the read and write response timesfor executing the command are satisfied, and wherein the adjusteddestage rate corresponding to the ranks is determined by simulatingexecution of a benchmark, and wherein the simulating comprises:determining whether read peaks are at a lower rate of input/output (I/O)operations than a rate of I/O operations at which the cache starts tofill and new writes need to wait for destages from the cache tocomplete; and in response to determining that the read peaks are at alower rate of I/O operations than a rate of I/O operations at which thecache starts to fill and new writes need to wait for destages from thecache to complete, decreasing number of destage task control blocks toreduce the destage rate, wherein: a destage rate adjustment applicationdetermines which ranks are allocated to the stringent requirementsapplication, and wherein a maximum number of destage task control blocksfor a rank is set by performing: if the rank is a stringent requirementsrank then a maximum number of destage task control blocks allowed forthe stringent requirements rank is set to a number that is less than adefault number; and if the rank is not a stringent requirements rankthen the maximum number of destage task control blocks allowed for therank that is not a stringent requirements rank is set to the defaultnumber.
 8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the adjusteddestage rate corresponding to the ranks allow a rate of I/O operationsto the ranks to be maximized subject to the read and write responsetimes for executing the command being satisfied, and wherein the set ofcriteria specifies: average read response time is to be less than afirst threshold; a predetermined percentage of reads are to be performedin a time less than a second threshold; the average write response timeis to be less than a third threshold; each write burst is to becompleted in a time that is less than a fourth threshold; and intervalbetween any two consecutive write bursts is greater than a fifththreshold.
 9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein if thestorage controller sets the destage rate to be too high to accommodatethe requirements on the average write response times and the completiontime requirements for the write bursts of the predetermined type, thenthe storage controller is unable to respond to read requests quicklyenough to satisfy read response time requirements included in the set ofcriteria.
 10. The computer program product of claim 7, the operationsfurther comprising: determining, by the storage controller, ranks of afirst type and ranks of a second type corresponding to the plurality ofvolumes coupled to the storage controller, wherein the ranks of thefirst type are determined based on an indication received at the storagecontroller that the volume is to be used for a first type of workloadthat includes write bursts of a predetermined type, wherein each writeburst of the predetermined type is comprised of at least two hundredmegabytes of block data, and the set of criteria includes requirementson average write response times and completion time requirements for thewrite bursts of the predetermined type, and wherein the command is to beexecuted with respect to the ranks of the first type; and adjustingdestage rate corresponding to ranks of the first type to be less thanhalf of a default destage rate, and wherein in response to determiningthat the read peaks are not at a lower rate of I/O operations than arate of I/O operations at which the cache starts to fill and new writesneed to wait for destages from the cache to complete, increasing thenumber of destage task control blocks to increase the destage rate. 11.The computer program product of claim 10, wherein determining ranks ofthe first type and ranks of the second type further comprises:processing the write burst patterns received at the storage controllerto determine whether the write burst patterns conform to thepredetermined type; and in response to determining that the write burstpatterns conform to the predetermined type, determining that ranks towhich the write burst patterns are addressed are of the first type. 12.The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the destage taskcontrol blocks maintained in the storage controller is a data structurein an operating system kernel that includes information needed to managea process for destaging.
 13. A storage controller in communication witha host and a plurality of volumes, the storage controller comprising: aprocessor; and a cache coupled to the processor, wherein the storagecontroller performs: receiving, a command from a host, wherein a set ofcriteria corresponding to read and write response times for executingthe command have to be satisfied for a stringent requirementsapplication, and wherein destage task control blocks maintained in thestorage controller store information about processes as data to bewritten is passed from the host through the cache to storage devicescoupled to the storage controller; and adjusting destage ratecorresponding to ranks corresponding to a plurality of volumes stored inthe storage devices coupled to the storage controller, wherein the setof criteria corresponding to the read and write response times forexecuting the command are satisfied, and wherein the adjusted destagerate corresponding to the ranks is determined by simulating execution ofa benchmark, and wherein the simulating comprises: determining whetherread peaks are at a lower rate of input/output (I/O) operations than arate of I/O operations at which the cache starts to fill and new writesneed to wait for destages from the cache to complete; and in response todetermining that the read peaks are at a lower rate of I/O operationsthan a rate of I/O operations at which the cache starts to fill and newwrites need to wait for destages from the cache to complete, decreasingnumber of destage task control blocks to reduce the destage rate,wherein: a destage rate adjustment application determines which ranksare allocated to the stringent requirements application, and wherein amaximum number of destage task control blocks for a rank is set byperforming: if the rank is a stringent requirements rank then a maximumnumber of destage task control blocks allowed for the stringentrequirements rank is set to a number that is less than a default number;and if the rank is not a stringent requirements rank then the maximumnumber of destage task control blocks allowed for the rank that is not astringent requirements rank is set to the default number.
 14. Thestorage controller of claim 13, wherein the adjusted destage ratecorresponding to the ranks allow a rate of I/O operations to the ranksto be maximized subject to the read and write response times forexecuting the command being satisfied, and wherein the set of criteriaspecifies: average read response time is to be less than a firstthreshold; a predetermined percentage of reads are to be performed in atime less than a second threshold; the average write response time is tobe less than a third threshold; each write burst is to be completed in atime that is less than a fourth threshold; and interval between any twoconsecutive write bursts is greater than a fifth threshold.
 15. Thestorage controller of claim 13, wherein if the storage controller setsthe destage rate to be too high to accommodate the requirements on theaverage write response times and the completion time requirements forthe write bursts of the predetermined type, then the storage controlleris unable to respond to read requests quickly enough to satisfy readresponse time requirements included in the set of criteria.
 16. Thestorage controller of claim 13, wherein the storage controller furtherperforms: determining ranks of a first type and ranks of a second typecorresponding to the plurality of volumes coupled to the storagecontroller, wherein the ranks of the first type are determined based onan indication received at the storage controller that the volume is tobe used for a first type of workload that includes write bursts of apredetermined type, wherein each write burst of the predetermined typeis comprised of at least two hundred megabytes of block data, and theset of criteria includes requirements on average write response timesand completion time requirements for the write bursts of thepredetermined type, and wherein the command is to be executed withrespect to the ranks of the first type; and adjusting destage ratecorresponding to ranks of the first type to be less than half of adefault destage rate, and wherein in response to determining that theread peaks are not at a lower rate of I/O operations than a rate of I/Ooperations at which the cache starts to fill and new writes need to waitfor destages from the cache to complete, increasing the number ofdestage task control blocks to increase the destage rate.
 17. Thestorage controller of claim 16, wherein determining ranks of the firsttype and ranks of the second type further comprises: processing thewrite burst patterns received at the storage controller to determinewhether the write burst patterns conform to the predetermined type; andin response to determining that the write burst patterns conform to thepredetermined type, determining that ranks to which the write burstpatterns are addressed are of the first type.
 18. The storage controllerof claim 13, wherein the destage task control blocks maintained in thestorage controller is a data structure in an operating system kernelthat includes information needed to manage a process for destaging.